Smith's blinder the highlight of polished performance in the field in Cup opener
The secret to Australia's fielding resurgence
Confidence and calmness have been the key to Australia rediscovering their best form in the field.
Australia missed several chances during the recent Commonwealth Bank Test Series against India, with Bupa Support Team Head Coach Darren Lehmann labelling it "shoddy at best" after a handful of chances went begging during the Boxing Day clash.
American Mike Young was reappointed in January as a fielding consultant alongside Greg Blewett and the squad's catching during the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series was far more impressive.
It was a trend that continued in the side's ICC Cricket World Cup opener against England at the MCG.
Steve Smith's magnificent catch in the covers to dismiss Jos Buttler was the highlight of a polished performance that was in sharp contrast to England's earlier on Saturday.
England's Chris Woakes dropped centurion Aaron Finch in the opening over of the match and the tourists also botched several run out opportunities.
"The big thing for us is we're not worried about making mistakes," said Finch.
"We're not worried about dropping a catch or misfielding.
Image Id: ~/media/C9E002F0A45A4B29A737700648FAA7E8
Haddin set the standard behind the stumps // Getty Images
"When you have an attitude like that and you're not worried about the consequence, you put your body on the line and you end up pulling off more spectacular things, like that (Smith's catch)."
Finch noted Smith, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner continued to set the bar high during fielding drills at training.
"It's a big competition with each other and something that is pretty special to see," he said.
"You can see why these guys repeatedly do it in a game, because they train so hard."
Lehmann suggested last week that fielding could make or break his side's hopes of lifting the World Cup.
"History shows if you're the best fielding side in the World Cup you go a long way to winning it," he said.
"You've got to make sure you're the best fielding side."
Australia next tackle Bangladesh in Brisbane on Saturday.